While Google maintains they will secure your permission before using your content for commercial/promotional services, you should know they’ll use what you store online to learn about your preferences and show you targeted ads. Learn how to opt out of seeing personalized ads here.

Is Google Photos safe to use?

In a word, yes. Google Photos is a secure service for storing your images and videos. However, the questions you have to consider are:

How much do you trust Google with your personal data?

Are you willing to give up some internet privacy for added media storage convenience?

Delete photos from your device and Google accounts

This option will delete photos from your Google Photo account and anydevice that syncs to your Google Photos library. If you only want to delete photos from your device but maintain a copy online, follow the instructions for deleting photos on your device only.

Step 1: Open your Google Photos app.

Step 2: Tap on Menu≡ > Settings > Back up& sync.

Step 3: Toggle the switch for Back up & sync ON.

Step 4: Tap and hold a photo you want to delete. Repeat this for every photo you want to delete.

Step 5: Tap on the Bin icon () to delete the file(s).

Made a mistake? If you deleted your photos by mistake, you can recover them within60 days (but no longer). Find out how in the next section.

Do more to protect your Internet privacy

Wondering what else you can do to enhance your internet privacy? Here are some steps you can take.

Use ExpressVPN. While “pausing” Google Web & App History prevents Google from collecting data about you, it doesn’t prevent your ISP from tracking what you’re doing online and potentially sharing it with corporations and governments. To hide your online activity from your ISP, use a VPN like ExpressVPN.

Use Tor Browser.Tor hides your location and online activities from anybody doing network surveillance or traffic analysis, so your Internet activity is difficult to trace back to you. It’s one of your best bets for maintaining anonymity online. To maximize the effectiveness of Tor, be sure to read these tips: Want Tor to really work?